Orlando shooter posted to social media during massacre

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Orlando shooter posted to social media during massacre

Former extremist reacts on 'The Kelly File' to new details on Omar Mateen's actions while hostages were held inside the Pulse nightclub

This is a rush transcript from "The Kelly File," June 15, 2016. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

MEGYN KELLY, HOST: Breaking tonight, a Fox News exclusive.  Chilling new details on what Orlando terrorist Omar Mateen was doing as he carried out his massacre at the polls nightclub, pledging his loyalty to ISIS and threatening more attacks in the days to come.

Welcome to "The Kelly File," everyone. I'm Megyn Kelly. Moments ago, FoxNews.com publishing a frightening account of the social media post put up by the Orlando gunman during the terror attack. The report detailing how Mateen with his victims lying dead or wounded around him. Was not only posting on Facebook, but also making a series of phone calls, at least 16.  Making sure the world heard his message. This report broke just moments ago.

Trace Gallagher is going through it at the breaking news desk as are we here in New York. Trace, what do you see?

TRACE GALLAGHER, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: The information in the report Megyn really is stunning and it's stuff we have not heard before. This is coming to us, of course -- they're talking about the three hours in between the shooting and the time the police went in and killed the actual shooter.  We're talking about a bunch of Facebook posts because this guy apparently had five different Facebook accounts that were linked to him.

I want to start by giving you the first Facebook post that was on FoxNews.com. It reads and I'm quoting, "I pledge my allegiance to ISIS Leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi. May Allah accept me. The real Muslims will never accept the filthy ways of the West. You kill innocent women and children by doing U.S. air strikes, now taste the Islamic State vengeance."  He went on to post again a short while later. Again quoting, "In the next few days, you will see attacks from the Islamic State in the United States of America." And finally, he posted, "America and Russia, stop bombing the Islamic State."

We should note these are all coming from information from the Senate Homeland Security Commission. Specifically Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson, a Republican who was given this information. He says that when this attack happened. They quickly took down all of his social media accounts. But of course, the Homeland Security Commission was able to revive those accounts, which is why they had this information. You mentioned 16 phone calls, Megyn. That is brand new.

As of an hour ago, we heard there were five phone calls made, three to 911, one that was to an unknown person and one more to an Orlando TV station.  The TV producer picked up the phone and shooter said to him, "have you heard about the shootings?" The producer said, "Yes, we've heard about the shootings." He cut him off saying, "I'm the shooter, it is me, I am the shooter," he went on to say, "this is about ISIS," and then he spoke in Arabic, ending by saying that he pledged his allegiance to ISIS. And now we know Megyn, there were on top of that 11 more phone calls made, it's unclear exactly to whom.

The Senate Homeland Committee did not point that out to us. That's information we are now trying to get. We should note that the Senate Homeland Committee as well as Senator Ron Johnson is now sent a letter to Facebook, asking for more information about the activities of the shooter, the different Facebook accounts. And we should note by finally saying, that while this was going on, while the hostages were in that bathroom with the shooter, he was searching for the following terms, Pulse Orlando shooting and he was also searching for information about the San Bernardino jihadist couple that killed 13 people back in November -- Megyn.

KELLY: Trace, thank you.

And just to clarify, looking at the letter because we're just going through it. It appears that he's saying, Ron Johnson, the Senator is saying, he -- these posts were prior to and during the shooting, so we're not sure which came which, but he does say that the final post was this one. In the next few days, you will see attacks from the Islamic State in the USA.

Joining me now, Maajid Nawaz, he's a former Islamic extremist and author of "Radical: My Journey Out of Islamist Extremism."

Maajid, good to see you tonight. So, let's just start with that, it appears that the final post while he was murdering these Americans was in the next few days, you will see attacks from the Islamic State in the U.S.A. What do you make of what we've just heard?

MAAJID NAWAZ, FORMER ISLAMIC EXTREMIST: Well, I think immediately I'd say that it demonstrates clearly that Omar Mateen, no matter for how long a period was clearly a supporter of ISIS, was clearly acting in a way that was inspired by their jihadist ideology and saw himself as a soldier in that course. I'm incredulous to the fact, you know, I speak as a liberal, Megyn, as you know, but my fellow liberals seem to be making a big deal about the fact that he was a regular at nightclubs, that perhaps he drank, perhaps he had homosexual tendencies.

But that doesn't prevent somebody sympathizing with the jihadist ideology.  Actually, to think that it does, it fundamentally demonstrates a misunderstanding of the process of radicalization. We know from previous attackers, we know the 911 attackers had visited strip clubs and (INAUDIBLE) were found in bars. We know the same in France where the Paris attackers, one got a couple of them. Even owned a bar. So, the process of radicalization can happen very quickly, if the fundamental ideological sympathies exist in the mind of the attacker.

KELLY: What would be the trigger, though, Maajid? I mean, that's what people have been looking for? We heard, listen, he said -- reportedly celebrated 911, according to his high school classmates, when it happened.  When he was a sophomore I think in high school. And -- but then we spoke with people who knew him as a professional, as recently as 2013 who said I never saw signs of radicalization.

Then his ex-wife said, I never saw signs of radicalization. I saw hate, I saw beatings, but I never saw radicalization. And then he gets together with his current wife, who had been living in Jordan up to 2006, we're told. Whose parents came from Pakistan, but she's an American, born in California, who went with him to buy the guns, went with him to buy the bullets. And now tonight we're going to get to her in a minute, has apparently vanished. So, do we tie it to her? How do we figure out how it started?

NAWAZ: Well, unfortunately for us living in Europe, I live -- I'm in London, we have experienced this very speedy process of radicalization many times. People within a matter of weeks go from appearing relatively normal and integrated to joining, supporting ISIS and travelling to fight with them. And that's actually one thing that ISIS has done in revolutionizing the process of radicalization, that they actually ended up even superseding al Qaeda as a result. Because they've been so effective in this. And actually, the social media connectivity, and what it allows for actually contacting people and discussing ideas is partly responsible for that.

I would also add Megyn that human beings are incredibly complicated creatures, and so we do know that as a child, Omar Mateen celebrated the 9/11 attacks. We do know that his father called the Taliban in Afghanistan warriors. So, we know he grew up in an atmosphere where these sorts of things were justified. And we also heard from a co-worker that he was working with at the security company, who actually made some complaints about him, and actually expressed that he felt this man should have been dismissed for his extreme views. So, there was certainly a process occurring. The speed of it in the current day and age with ISIS doesn't surprise anyone who works in this field.

NAWAZ: Uh-hm. Right. In 2014, the FBI had contact with him because he was sympathizing with or friendly with a man who went on to become a homicide bomber over in Syria. They moved on from the case. But when you look back with 20/20 hindsight, of course, the signs are there. Maajid, stand by.

Also breaking tonight. The wife of the Orlando terrorist vanishing from the radar. As the Feds suggest, they may not be bringing charges against her. Despite reports that she knew exactly what he was going to do as he walked out the door on Saturday night. Reports today suggest that Omar Mateen is on video buying bullets with his wife Noor Salman, who's becoming a major focus in this investigation that now stretches coast to coast.  Salman returned to her home under the cover of darkness last night.  Something we saw her do late Monday as well. As we learned that the FBI is now interviewing folks in the California neighborhood where she grew up.

Not only that, but Salman is now reportedly telling investigators that her husband insisted he was just going out with friends on Saturday. Although she said she knew different. Omar Mateen's father had this to say when asked if he knows where his daughter-in-law is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who is in this house now? Who is in this house across the street right now?

SEDDIQUE MATEEN, OMAR MATEEN'S FATHER: Who is there? That's my family and you shouldn't be here. If you are looking for Noor, she's not there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is she in Orlando?

MATEEN: I cannot say where she's gone, but she's not here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KELLY: We are also learning more about Omar Mateen today as folks realized that he was once interviewed for a documentary about the BP Oil spill some six years ago, when he was working as a security guard.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm actually just wondering what's going on here.

OMAR MATEEN, FORMER G4S SECURITY GUARD: It's for BP, like the oil spill.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is there any way I could talk to any of the people that are out there working?

MATEEN: There's people out here, but they're all scattered all over the place. There is no one really to talk to. Like any like -- no one gives a (bleep). No one gives a (bleep) here. Like everybody just out to get paid. They're like hoping for more oil to come out and more people to complain so they'll have the jobs. They want more disaster to happen because that's where their money-making is.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. All about the money, right?

MATEEN: All about the money. Exactly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KELLY: How about that? Back now to Trace, with the second part of our story. Trace?

GALLAGHER: Yes. The FBI says the investigation Megyn could take weeks, months, even years, and they are thoroughly probing the role of Noor Salman, the killer's second wife. Along with visiting her child at their home in San Francisco Bay Area where Salman lived with her parents and three sisters in a very conservative Palestinian family, the FBI has scoured the home she shared with the shooter, where neighbors now say she kept to herself. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We didn't see her go in and out much. Usually, a lot of my neighbors, I see them leave, go to work, pull in and out, I didn't see her a lot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER: But apparently she was seen in store surveillance video not yet released that showed her buying ammunition with her husband. She told investigators she knew her husband was planning a jihadist attack and despite saying she tried to stop him, she never contacted police. Noor Salman could be charged as an accomplice, but the U.S. attorney says, an arrest is not imminent. Listen to him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEE BENTLEY, U.S. ATTORNEY FOR MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA: We do not know when charges will be finalized, to answer your question. We're not sure what charges will be brought or if charges will be brought.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER: And now, of course, Megyn, there's the breaking news that we know that 16 phone calls were made during the attack on that nightclub.  Again, we only know who he called in four of those phone calls, the question is, did he contact his wife at any time during that attack, and if so why then did she not contact authorities. If he contacted friends, why did they also not contact authorities?

KELLY: Uh-hm. She could have been very helpful, they would have asked her, what's he been doing in the apartment, have you seen bomb paraphernalia? What have you seen? That could have been a real lead, and we'll find out more about that soon, I'm sure.

Trace, good to see you.

GALLAGHER: Yep.

KELLY: Joining me now, Mia Bloom, a professor of communication at Georgia State University and author of "Bombshell: Women and Terrorism." And Mia is a true expert on this topic.

Mia, thank you very much for being here tonight. So, what, I mean, we talked about this after the Boston marathon bombing, with the American wife Katherine Russell, who married Tamerlan Tsarnaev who they lived in small apartment and he was making bombs in it and she was now Googling benefits to the wife of Mujahedeen. She was never charged and she never reported anything about Tamerlan Tsarnaev. Your thoughts?

MIA BLOOM, AUTHOR, "BOMBSHELL: WOMEN AND TERRORISM": We have seen so often across every different kind of terrorist group. Islamic groups, extreme right wing that the families don't come forward, and they don't report what they've seen. And even when they have been told, and 64 percent of the time, in the study that was done by John Horgan (ph). A member of the family knew about the plot, because the perpetrator told them about the plot. And so, it's really quite shocking that Noor is either, you know, she's a conspirator or she's callous or she's a coward. But one of the three, either of these descriptions of her is not complimentary.

KELLY: Uh-hm. Because now she wants to say, okay, I was there when he bought guns, and I was there when he bought bullets. And, you know, I feared he might do something, but I didn't know about it, even though I had driven him to the Pulse nightclub on many occasions. I mean, why would a wife be driving her husband to a gay club over and over again. Except not on the night in question and on that night, I just suspected but I didn't know. It doesn't add up, Mia.

BLOOM: It doesn't add up. And in fact, as she has been interrogated by various police officers and the FBI, the story keeps changing. So, I don't have a great deal of confidence in her all of a sudden now taking on this role of the victim. Because we know he did beat and he was very cruel to his first wife. I think that she's going to play the victim card and she is going to say, well, you know, she could have done something. But she was afraid of him, and that's why she didn't.

KELLY: You know, it's so odd to see this picture of him and her with their three-year-old son, and you know, you can't help but think as an American citizen, looking at like -- how could they? How could he and how could she sit there willingly with their son with the Mickey Mouse short on, do what we know at least he and perhaps she did?

BLOOM: You know, it was something that I looked into. Because I wanted to see when we examined the study of a 119 lone act of terrorists, in which 64 percent of the time, a member of the family knew specific information about the plot. Was it only one group? And it wasn't. So, for example, we know that in the Oklahoma City bombing, that Terry Nichols brother James helped him build the bombs, bought the guns.

And so, this cross cut every different group you can imagine. Families don't come forward, either because, you know, they're afraid of getting their family member in trouble or they don't want to get themselves in trouble. But I think we need to make a distinction between if they hear something that sounds strange in a fit of anger, versus what Noor did, where she acted as an accessory by helping him buy guns and ammunitions.  And also ordering (ph) the target.

KELLY: Uh-hm. If that's what happened, she will likely never see that little boy again. And I'm sure even though she's off our radar tonight, she's not off the radar of Federal Law Enforcement, who have got to be watching her like a hawk.

Mia, thank you so much for your expertise.

BLOOM: Thanks for having me, Megyn. Great to see you again.

KELLY: Likewise.

Well, there is also breaking news from Washington, where some Democrats are reacting to the Orlando attack by trying to rewrite the gun laws, there is a big filibuster of sorts going on right now, we'll show you what they're trying to change.

Plus, in the middle of this terror investigation. The Obama administration just quietly announced, it is increasing its fast tracking. It's fast tracking the number of refugees coming to America from Syria. Why? Why are they doing that? And why are they doing it now?

Marc Thiessen and Robert Zimmerman are next. Don't miss this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KELLY: Breaking tonight, as the nation reels from the worst terrorist attack since 9/11 on U.S. soil, the Obama administration has just announced it is ramping up its efforts to bring in refugees from one of the worst terror hot spots on the planet, Syria. They are accelerating the phase that which were accepting these folks. The President's deputy National Security adviser telling the group, human rights first watch -- human rights first, quote, "We are speeding up the admissions process, without skipping any steps. So far, we've admitted about 3,500 Syrian refugees, more in the last five weeks than in the past seven months."

While it's important to note, no Syrian refugees in the United States have been arrested on terror related charges, many people don't understand that.  But none have been arrested on terror charges. Members of the President's own cabinet warned that terrorists could indeed infiltrate the refugee ranks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES CLAPPER DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: We don't obviously put it past the likes of ISIL to infiltrate operatives among these refugees. So, that is a huge concern of ours.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KELLY: Huge concern of the administration. Marc Thiessen is a Fox News contributor and a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. And Robert Zimmerman is a DNC Committee member from New York and co-founder of Zimmerman/Edelson Public Relations. Good to see you both.

ROBERT ZIMMERMAN, DNC COMMITTEE MEMBER FROM NEW YORK: Good evening.

MARC THIESSEN, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Good to see you, Megyn.

KELLY: So, it doesn't sound like they're increasing the number of Syrian refugees which would probably be 10,000. But they're speeding it up, Marc, because they say they want it done by September 30th. It wasn't going as quickly as they would have like. They assure us they're not skipping any steps, despite their huge concern that these ranks might be infiltrated by terrorists. Your thoughts?

THIESSEN: Yes. They're speeding it up, and Hillary Clinton does want to ramp it up. Hillary Clinton has proposed increasing the number of Syrian refugees coming to the United States by 500 percent to 65,000 people. And she says that Republicans who oppose this betray our values and want to slam the door on innocent men, women and children. But you know, it's kind of rich because when her husband was president of the United States in the 1990s and tens of thousands of Haitian refugees tried to seek asylum in the United States after the Aristide regime fell, Bill Clinton slammed the door on those refugees. The cell door at Guantanamo Bay. He intercepted them at sea, sent them to Guantanamo and then sent them back because some of them had the HIV virus, AIDS. So, Hillary Clinton thinks that we're betraying values because --

KELLY: Let me just jump in. Robert, why can't we help the Syrian refugees -- this is what Marc's, people say -- by creating a safe zone some place outside of the United States. It would take money. But Americans may be more comfortable with that solution.

ZIMMERMAN: Look, Megyn, we're all profoundly concerned about the safety of our country and our concern about refugees. But the reality here Megyn is that, when you talk about the administration ramping up its steps, let's be clear, what they're doing, is increasing on every level of our government, more staff, more oversight, more security clearances. Let's put this in perspective, since 9/11 hit our country, we've taken in 784,000 refugees, only three have been returned since 9/11.

The point here that counts is, the post that Marc is talking about, the Republican right wing, really in fact makes America less safe. In fact, the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee for the Republicans in the House, Mike McCall said that in fact Donald Trump's strategy toward Muslims and towards inviting Muslims from coming in would in fact be a recruiting tool for ISIS. So, what we have to be --

KELLY: Right.

ZIMMERMAN: -- on our guard -- we have to be very cautious.

KELLY: Well, that's the argument, Marc. They say, when we support, you know, taking in these refugees, we undermine the terrorist arguments about the United States. And if we don't support them, they become desperate, they turn to unscrupulous people, and you have little kids, this little nine-year-old boy Ahmed (ph) who wrote to President Obama saying, I was sitting in a refugee camp it got bombed, I lost both of my arms, and I want to get arms so I can write a letter of thanks to the United States. I mean, this -- when we reject the would be terrorists, we reject little Ahmed as well.

(CROSSTALK)

THIESSEN: Here's the problem. Robert, hold on. Here's the problem. Of course, all of us want to help these refugees. Anyone who saw the picture of that little lifeless body of that toddler who was drowned trying to escape from ISIS wants to help them. The problem is, is that the Islamic State is taking advantage of their suffering to try and infiltrate terrorists into the United States.

ZIMMERMAN: No, Marc, the problem is --

(CROSSTALK)

KELLY: Let him finish.

THIESSEN: Stop interrupting me.

ZIMMERMAN: That's the problem, Marc. Donald Trump is playing in their agenda.

KELLY: Let him finish. Let Marc finish and then I'll get to you, Robert.

ZIMMERMAN: Okay.

THIESSEN: Yes. The problem is, the Islamic State is trying to infiltrate them, and the Obama administration has admitted that they can't effectively screen them. They lost track of 10,000 people who had terrorist ties who they mistakenly gave visas into United States.

ZIMMERMAN: Marc --

THIESSEN: They don't know where they are.

(CROSSTALK)

ZIMMERMAN: First of all, Marc, that's a false statement, the FBI director --

THIESSEN: It's not a false statement.

ZIMMERMAN: Excuse me. The FBI director says, they can vet them.

THIESSEN: No.

ZIMMERMAN: But the more important point here. The more important here --

KELLY: No, that's not true, but let's not get off the fact.

ZIMMERMAN: That is true.

KELLY: Comey actually expressed his concern about vetting them. I have it here.

ZIMMERMAN: Megyn, Megyn, he did say that the government can in fact vet the refugees and they're getting better at it. That was fact-check by the Pulitzer Prize organization PolitiFact.

KELLY: Comey said, we can only query against that which we have collected.  And so, if someone has not made a ripple in the pond in Syria, in a way that would get our interest in the databases. We can query our databases until the cows come home, but nothing will show up, because we have no record of that person, Robert. That's what Comey said.

ZIMMERMAN: Megyn, if we don't have a profiler -- if we don't have a profiler --

(CROSSTALK)

ZIMMERMAN: -- they're not let in. That is the point.

THIESSEN: Robert.

ZIMMERMAN: But here's the bigger point. That as long as we play into this fear, and the play into the fear mongering, Donald Trump -- the following Donald Trump's strategy, we endanger our safety --

KELLY: All right.

ZIMMERMAN: If we become recruiting tools for ISIS and the country is in fact --

KELLY: Okay. You made your point. I have to go. I have to go.

THIESSEN: Without letting them into the United States.

KELLY: One of the top Democrats in Congress today came out and declared that the Orlando attack was not about ISIS or even about terror. But that it was all about gun control. I mean, not at all about terror? We'll take you live to the Democrats effort to crackdown on gun laws underway at this moment.

Plus, Trump today added to his controversial claims about President Obama, the terrorists and how this administration is handling the threat to America. We'll have a full investigation for you coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KELLY: Breaking tonight in the wake of the Orlando terror attack, Democrats are making a major new push for more gun control, with a lengthy filibuster of sorts in the Senate. We have got live pictures coming in right now as you can see. From the President on down, a series of Democrats have call for tougher gun laws, in the last couple of days, with South Carolina's James Clyburn going so far as to say, Orlando had nothing to do with terrorism. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JAMES CLYBURN, D-S.C.: This is not about ISIS, this is not any kind of foreign terror. This is about guns in America and whether or not we're going to some kind of moderation to this Second Amendment just as we have to the First Amendment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KELLY: Not about ISIS? Joining me now, Katie Pavlich who is a Fox News contributor and news editor at Townhall.com and Mark Glaze, who's president of Campaign to Unload, a group urging Americans to stop investing in the gun industry, god to see you both. Mark, let me start with you on this. Of course it's about ISIS. I mean it's -- why how can he say it's not about ISIS?

MARK GLAZE, CAMPAIGN TO UNLOAD PRESIDENT: It's absolutely about ISIS. It's not either or. It's also about hatred and it's also about guns. The fact is, since the year 2004, more than 2,000 people who were on terror watch lists were actually able to buy guns and explosives because the government doesn't have the power to block the purchase. There's legislation that if it were passed, might have allowed us to catch this guy before he actually bought his gun.

KELLY: Wait now, before I get to Katie let me ask you, because you know that the gun defenders say that's because innocent people wind up on the so-called terror watch list all the time like Steve Hayes, a Fox News contributor, I'll put in that (ph) and he can't deprive them of their second amendment rights, which they're not told they're on there with no due process. GO ahead Mark.

GLAZE: Right, but there is due process after the fact. If you learn that you're inadvertently accidentally on that list and you should not be, you go to a judge and you get off. But here is context, in order to fly to New York to do this, I practically have to take my clothes off and get my hand sanitized right away before I'm able to board a plane and I've never had a conversation with the FBI. We know the FBI had two investigations open into this guy and nevertheless, the government can't even put a pause on the sale. I don't think Americans want that, and Donald Trump has said he doesn't want that. I think this is a big opportunity for him.

KELLY: Go ahead Katie.

KATIE PAVLICH, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, actually I also think that this is a big opportunity for both sides of the political aisle and I think that Democrats would be more productive and rather than grandstand on the Senate floor in a capital building that is defended by men with AR 15 for example. They could be cleaning up the terror watch list and they could be cleaning up the terror no fly list because we do know that the terror watch list alone, which is separate from the fly list, has a million American names on it, many of which have nothing to do with terror.

And Megyn, this is not only about protecting second amendment rights, it's also about protecting due process before the fact. So when you get put on one of these lists, it literally takes an act of congress in the majority of the cases to get you off.

GLAZE: That's not the case -- that's not the case.

PAVLICH: It is the case.

GLAZE: Look, I understand that at some point the NRA may have handed you a piece of paper and that's what you're reading from. The fact is, if you are accidentally on that list and there are not that many people who are, you go to a judge, you say, "Why am I on the list?" They look into it. If you're not on occur (ph) reason, they take you off. That does not happen often enough to allow people who we know are terror suspects to buy guns to protect your second amendment right.

KELLY: But they say there's this bill, Katie, that they're pushing now that says why don't we have a bill, a law that says a cop, a sheriff, a police department can say, you know what, Omar Mateen shouldn't get a gun. He shouldn't get a license even though nothing came of those two FBI inquiries. We still don't feel okay about it.

PAVLICH: Well, look Megyn, just because you're put on a terror watch list, again until they clean up the list, you cant deny people their due process right and you can't deny them their second amendment rights simply because they're on a list, and we're thinking about

GLAZE: Katie, the list is never going to be perfect.

PAVLICH: If i could just finish my point -- if I could just finish my point 37.

KELLY: Go ahead finish Katie.

PAVLICH: In terms of cleaning up the list, there is a lot of opportunity for both sides to actually get something done but you can't put a million people on a list and expect the government to be able to go through and be efficient.

KELLY: With any sort of a speed.

(Crosstalk)

KELLY: As I recall, Steve Hayes came out and said it was a nightmare to get himself up. It was not slickity slick and you know, I'm Steve Hayes with the "Weekly Standard" what's that -- you know, it was hard. Go ahead, I'll give you the last word Mark.  GLAZE: So look, I think that both that this is actually an opportunity as you say for both sides to get their act together. Should we clean up these lists and make them narrower? Of course we should, but we're never going to have a perfect list ans as long as I have to take my clothes off to get on a plane, when a guy is under terror investigation, he's on the terror watch list, let's take a days and stop the purchase.

KELLY: You know what's so frustrating. Can I just tell you? Here's what's so frustrating, so the Democrats are talking about the guns -- what is the plan, what has president Obama said he's going to do about this? What is he doing?

GLAZE: Well, there is actual legislation out there that we think would help solve the problem.

KELLY: Yeah, well let me give that one to Katie. What is he doing? What's being done to change the way we screen these needles in the haystack as Colmey (ph) put it.

PAVLICH: Not a lot. I mean, you look at the president's rhetoric and look at his foreign policy over the last 7 1/2 years of his presidency.

KELLY: Nothing's changed.

PAVLICH: And the issue here is when you have Democrats saying this has nothing to do with ISIS, therein lies the problem. This absolutely has to do with ISIS. The killer pledged his allegiance to ISIS, and until we decide to take on ISIS where they breed, which is not in the United States, but overseas, we will continue to have these problems.

KELLY: You just get the feeling -- you get the feeling that maybe the two candidates running for office are coming with plans. You get the feeling that president Obama is like, "It's really hard, sorry." I got to go, you guys. Great debate. Thank you for being here.

PAVLICH: Thanks Megyn.

GLAZE: Thanks Megyn.

KELLY: You know, and that's why America is just so frustrated. It's like, well, what are you going to do? What's the plan? At least Hillary Clinton is like, I mean, she'll have a committee, they're going to look into home grown terror. And you know Donald Trump got all sorts of plans.

Okay, well, are Republicans responsible for Orlando? Is the president of the United States actually supporting the terrorists? Dana Perino and David French are next on how our political debate got so ugly this week, and how it's really dangerous.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KELLY: New developments tonight on the controversy over how Donald Trump has been questioning the president's terror efforts. Earlier this week, Trump suggested "there must be something going on to explain why the president hasn't been tougher in his view on terrorists." After getting hit for the implications behind that quote, he today tweeted, "media fell all over themselves, criticizing what Donald Trump may have insinuated about @potus.

But he's right." Trump links to a Breitbart article in this tweet that he feels confirms his accusations about president Obama. Tonight we're joined by Dana Perino and David French on this fight, and more. But first, we go to Trace Gallagher, with what exactly was in this article touted by Donald Trump. Trace?

GALLAGHER: Megyn, it all began on "Fox & Friends" the day after the Orlando terror attack when Donald Trump called in to comment about President Obama's refusal to say the words Islamic terrorism. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, R-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're led by a man that either is -- is -- is not tough, not smart or he's got something else in mind, and the something else is mind, you know, people can't believe it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER: So, you heard him say something else in mind. Well, that led The Washington Post to run the headline, "Donald Trump suggest President Obama was involved with the Orlando shooting." The Post would later tone the headline down a bit but as far as Trump is concerned, the damage was done and he quickly barred the newspaper from attending future campaign events, saying they had no journalistic integrity.

But today, Trump sent out a tweet indicating there was proof that he was right all along about President Obama. A link to a Breitbart article about a secret intelligence memo that Breitbart says proves the Obama administration supported ISIS. So we checked. Turns out the intel report which surfaced last year is heavily redacted and only partially finished. It does say that in 2012, the west, gulf countries and turkey, supported the opposition to overthrow Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and the opposition later did partly become ISIS.

But experts say while there's an argument that the Obama administration ignored warning signs about the rise of ISIS, there was zero evidence to show the administration had a direct hand in supporting or creating ISIS. It's also unclear if the president was ever briefed on the document itself. Megyn.

KELLY: Trace, thank you. While those on the left say Trump is poisoning the political conversation with his attacks on the president like that one, Mr. Trump certainly doesn't have the corner on extreme arguments. Case in point, the New York Times editorial board which today tried to argue that the terror shooting spree can be blamed directly on the Republican Party, really?

Joining me now is Dana Perino, co-host of "The Five" and the White House press secretary under President George W. Bush and David French, National Review staff writer and Iraq war veteran, great to see you both. The "New York Times says hate crimes don't occur in a vacuum, they occur where bigotry is allowed to fester, where minorities are vilified.

Tragically, this is a state of American politics driven to often by Republican politicians who see prejudice as something to exploit, not extinguish. So you've got the "Times" saying that about the Republicans, you got Trump suggesting, you tell me about President Obama and why he's not harder on ISIS, and this is at best a missed opportunity and at worst a disheartening mess. I'll give it to you first, David.

DAVID FRENCH, NATIONAL REVIEW STAFF WRITER: You know, look, there's a situation we have right now when many of our leaders, our pundits, our celebrities, when a terror attack happens, they're actually angrier at their American political opponents than they are at ISIS or Abu Bakr al- Baghdadi. It was remarkable to me that the New York Times mentioned the Governor of Texas and the Governor of North Carolina in connection with an ISIS attack and not the leader of ISIS. It's remarkable.

KELLY: Right, like they're anti-LGBT efforts made Omar Mateen want to shoot gays as opposed to his radical Islamic ideology.

FRENCH: Which he declared openly, pledging allegiance on multiple occasions to ISIS. And so -- they look -- they're saying well, we don't really know what motivated it, when he said what motivated it.

KELLY: Yeah we do. We know exactly. He said that we have the tweets and the Facebook posts at the beginning of the show. "I pledge my allegiance to Baghdadi. America and Russia has to stop bombing the Islamic state. That we are Muslims will never accept the filthy ways of the West. You kill innocent women and children by doing U.S. air strikes, now taste the Islamic State vengeance." There's nothing in here about transgender people in bathrooms.

FRENCH: Exactly -- exactly. It's beyond the pale. It's absolutely beyond the pale. We can have a gun control conversation, that's normal politics, but then when you begin to inject this element of vitriol (ph), that's polarizing beyond anything that our political system is supposed to withstand.

KELLY: And yet, you look right at the top Dana, and it doesn't even feel like there's an effort to unify us right now, right? I mean, there's been no invitation. I mean, even the governor of Florida said he never got a call from president Obama.

DANA PERINO, FORMER WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I think that there's been a resounding disappointment from the political class all across the board. Remember, even you had during the moment of silence that Speaker Ryan was hosting for the House of Representatives, that turns into a yelling match about gun violence. So, who is the victim here? It is the victims who were killed and their families and they've been almost wholly ignored while the politicians try to fight it out.

In the meantime, every time a politician opens his mouth, especially the president, his or her, they have a choice to make. And they could try to unify or divide. And it is hard, especially if you feel like you have just been called a traitor to your country. It is hard to let that go. But I do think that there would have been a way to do that. I think that president Obama...

KELLY: Somebody else could come out.

PERINO: I would have sent Vice President Biden out there to be the attack dog and I'm going to try to rise above it because that would have been actually even more unifying for president Obama. I don't blame president Obama for pushing back, what I do think is when he says it doesn't matter what he calls this effort, that radical -- saying the words radical Islam is not going to change anything. I actually can see his point, but what we don't see are more actions.

KELLY: That's the thing.

PERINO: And I don't just mean on gun violence. I mean, keeping the you know what out of ISIS to try to...

KELLY: Where is the -- what are we doing about this? I haven't heard anything from them but what is the plan?

FRENCH: Well, I think the plan is just more of the same and more of the same is not working. Let's look at actual numbers here. Since the rise of ISIS in the late spring early summer of 2014, we've had more than three times the domestic casualties between September 12th, 2001 and 2014 -- more than three times. Attacks are occurring about once every four to five months now. It's extraordinary, and his answer is more of the same.

PERINO: And that doesn't include the innocent people who are being killed in the Muslim world as well.

KELLY: This is not acceptable. It's just not acceptable. Great to see you both. Don't go away, new developments with the tragic incident with that 2- year-old at Disney, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JERRY DEMINGS, ORANGE COUNTY SHERRIF: At about 3:30 today, we recovered the remains of the 2-year-old from the water. He was within the immediate area where he was last seen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KELLY: That was the Orlando sheriff this afternoon. What a week for Orlando. Announcing the tragic end to a difficult search after a dream vacation at Disney World turned terribly, terribly horrific for one Nebraska family. Look at this little boy, 2-year-old son, wading in shallow water near his father, who was attacked and dragged away by an alligator. Peter Doocy is live on the scene tonight. Peter?

PETER DOOCY, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CORRESPONDENT: Megyn, officials say that Lane Graves was doing what any 2-year-old would be doing here. Just splashing around at the water's edge outside the Grand Floridian Hotel where his family checked in on Sunday. Lane was the only one in the water when the alligator grabbed him and his dad, Matt, did his best to wrestle the toddler away but it was not enough. The alligator disappeared with Lane, submerged in the manmade Seven Seas lagoon.

Witnesses describe his mom, Melissa, as frantically running along the water looking for Lane but the gator didn't surface and neither did her son. Trappers raced to catch and kill as many gators in the area as they could. But after finding five, there was still no sign of Lane. Then after an 18- hour search with sonar and helicopters and 50 members of the Orange County Sheriff's Department, divers found the 2-year-old about 15 feet from the last place his parents saw him. They then told family right away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMINGS: I delivered the message along with a priest, a catholic priest, and of course, the family was distraught but also I believe somewhat relieved that we were able to find their son with his body intact, one. And two, that he was located so that they can come to grips...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOOCY: The president of Walt Disnet Resorts says tonight in a statement, "We are devastated and heartbroken by this tragic accident and are doing what we can to help the family during this difficult time. On behalf of everyone at Disney, we offer our deepest sympathies." And authorities say Disney has been cooperating. This is the first deadly encounter with an alligator here in 45 years. Megyn?

KELLY: Peter Doocy, thank you.

Joining me now, a wildlife expert and communications director at the Zoo Miami, Ron Magill. Ron, thank you so much for being here.

RON MAGILL, WILDLIFE EXPERT: My pleasure, Megyn.

KELLY: This is a tough one. They -- you know, people are worried now that alligators could grab anyone -- could grab anyone's child. I mean, is -- how atypical is this?

MAGILL: It is atypical, Megyn. Understand that since 1948, I think there have been 140-something alligator attacks recorded in the State of Florida. That really isn't a lot when you put it in perspective. But having said that, there are now over a million alligators in the State of Florida and you can assume that there's an alligator in almost every fresh water pond, lake, lagoon, canal, within the state so people need to understand that, but having said that, alligators do not target humans.

They have a natural fear of humans. So keeping that natural fear is important. When people are feeding alligators, it's a different situation. You lose that natural fear which is why it's against the law. The situation with this child was just a perfect recipe for disaster in the sense it's a small child wading, splashing in the water at nighttime.

This alligator I'm sure was a case of mistaken identity. Probably thought it was a raccoon, a possum, a duck or whatever, took that child as an instinct and brought that child down. And I think once realized that it was not a duck, was not a possum, that's why that was child was eventually probably released. Unfortunately it was too late for the child.

KELLY: His remains were found intact. They believe the child died of drowning. Was there -- you know, the father fought the alligator, attempted to try to save his son. There was no chance.

MAGILL: There really was no chance, Megyn. I can tell you, I've worked with alligators and crocodiles for over 30 years. The force and power of their mouths when they close, there's no human in the world that can open the mouth of an adult alligator that wants to keep it closed. The only thing you'd be able to do as an adult in that situation, is you go for soft points.

Take your thumbs, go into the eyes of the alligator as horrible as that sounds, punch the snout, which is a sensitive part of the alligator, and then it might open its mouth on its own. But that's only way you're going to get anything out of an alligator's mouth. Even the alligator itself decides...

KELLY: Well, I'm short of time -- short on time, but would you let your child sit on that beach down there at the Grand Floridian? Sit on the sand, not play in the water.

MAGILL: Probably not. Not my small child. I would not do that because that's the mode of operations for alligators. They go against the shoreline. They go against animals, small children, pets -- anything that's right on the shoreline is in danger whenever there's an alligator in that area.

KELLY: Things are going to have to change. That's clear. Poor Disney too. You feel for them. You feel so much for this family. Thank you so much for being here Ron.

MAGILL: Absolutely.

KELLY: All the best to you.

MAGILL: My pleasure.

KELLY: All our love to the people of Orlando tonight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KELLY: What a few days for the country, for Orlando. How are you feeling? Is it affecting you in your personal life? Let me know online. Facebook.com/thekellyfile. Thanks for watching, everyone. I'm Megyn Kelly. Good night.

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